Improved street-sweeping machine



A. J. ROBERTS. STREET SWEEPING MACHINE No. 50,630. Patented 00. 24 1865.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW J. nonna'rs, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED S TREET-SWEEPING MACHINE. I

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 60,630, dated October 24, 1865.

To all whom it'mag concern.-

Be it known 1, ANDREW J. ROBERTS, of

Boston, in the county of Sufl'olk and State of,

Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweeping Machines;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification. The present invention consists, first, iu-soorasmuch as desired, itcau be then'drawn away to any convenient place for depositing the'dirt without necessarily carrying with it the sweeping devices of the machine, the advantages of which are many and manifest to all persons conversant with the subject-matter of my present invention; second, in a novel and peculiar manner of constructingand arranging thefront axle-tree of the machine, as will be presently described; third, in an arrangement of devices for raising and lowering the bottom of the dirtbox, when desired, to dump or remove the dirt from the same; fourth,in the use 'of an elastic endless belt orband, made either of indiarubber, gutta-percha, or other suitable material, provided with propershaped ridges or lips for holding and retaining the dirt swept upon the same by the action of the brooms in passing over the street; fifth, in so formingor constructing the side pieces of the frame incasing the endless dirt-carrying belt that no dirt of consequence can posssibly workbetween them and the edges of the belt, which not only often causes serious injuries to the belt, but prevents its free and easy movement; and I have also made other improvements in the detail, construction, and. operation of the machine, which will be hereinafter particularly,

explained, reference being had in the following description to the accompanying plate of drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical section, showing the sweeping mechanism detached from the main portion of the machine and taken in the plane of the line :0 x of Fig. 2, which, is a transverse vertical section of the 'machine, taken in the plane of the line 313 Fig.1. Fig. 3 is adetail sectionalview on an enlarged scale in the transverse plane 22 of the endless dirt-carrying belt orba'nd of the machine, showing the manner; infwhich it is arranged in the side pieces of its outer casing.

A A in the drawings represent the dirt box or receptacle of the machine,made of the general form shown in section in Fig. 1, and divided into chambers or parts Band 0,;o'n'e of which, 0, is of a cylindrical shape; D D,.the rear wheels turningo'n an axle, E,'extending entirel y across theIlower-portionof"the inclined chamber B of the dirt-box and secured at each end in the same; F 1}, thefrontwheels turning upon the trunnions a a at; diametrical-"points of the ciri;

cular bar or ring G,-extendin'g= entirely and loosely around the exterior 'ol the cylindrical portion 0' of the dirt-box; and hung by swivel or'pivot joints b b, at equal distances from the trunnio'ns a a, to another 'rin g,. H, around the cylinder 0 and abovethewheel-axle ring Gr, restingupon a series of suitable-shaped brackets, c c c,- placed and. secured at intermediate points upon the cylinder'box, the said rings G and .H being of the proper size to freely turn around the cylinder.

, Bythus hanging the front wheels of the sweeping-machine to and upona loose circular'axle, swiveled toanother ring, resting upon the dirt-cylinder box, as described, it is evidentltha't-they can be not only more freely moved around, so as to allow the machine-to be turned intoanydcsired posit-ion,the wheels passing in their circuit under-the dirt-box andthrou-gh the cutaway portion K of the same, but, also, they are allowed a play in a vertical planeywhereby they adjust themselvesto the inequalities on the surface of the ground being swept or over which the machine is traveling.

In order to relieve the circular rings to which the front wheels are hung of a "considerable portion of the friction necessarily produced by the movement upon and around the cylinder: box, I employ a series of friction-rollers, d d (I, placed in a loose ring, f, which rollers bear upon the upper surface of thering H, asis plainly represented in Fig. 1.

Upon inner side of each hind wheel, D, and

turning in conjunction with the same,is a; gearwheel, L, interlockingv with which, when the l casing M, in which the endless dirt-carrying belt or band,N,is arranged,is placed uponthe machine, as will bepresently explaiued',-a similar but smaller gear-whee1,m,en gages, turning by its shaft, h, in suitable bearings of the side plates, 1, of the casing M. a

On each end of shaft h, and turning with it, is a pulley, m, connected by a driving-belt, n, with a pulley, n, upon the ends of a transverse horizontal shaft, N, turningin bearings ofthe outer casing, M, and extendingacross the lower end of the same, on which shaft a series of circular frames or wheels, 0 O, are attached, having secured upon their periphery the .frames 1 P, in which the brooms or brushes Q Q are inserted by means of bent springplatesv it It, as has been particularly explained, and forthe purpose specified in the description accompanying my application for other improvements in streetsweepin g machines bearingeven date herewith. Passing from the pulleys n, at each end of the broom-shaft, is another belt, 0,.connecting it with thepulleyp upon the ends outside of' the easing M of a horizontal cylindrical drum-shaft, S, extending entire] y across the interior of the casing M, over which passes the vertical inclined endless. dirt-carrying beltor hand N, moving around a similar drum-shaft, T, at the upper end of its casing, This casing, when in position upon the'machine, extends upward and along upon the exterior surface of theinclined end plate, U,ofthe same, on which it rests, and is held by means of two lever-arias, W, hung and turning upon the rear axle,E,as a fulcrum, and outside of the-dirt-box A, which arms have their outer ends, 1', made of a hookshape, so that by first placing the shaft h of the belt-frame N in the same, if to be attached to the machine, and then depressing the outer end or handle, s, of the lever t, hung in the up per portion of the dirt-box A, and connected through its-cross-rod w with the inner ends, it, of each of the hooked shaped levers W by rods '12, thehooked shapedendswillbedepressed,carrying with them the endless belt-frame, and looking its shaft h in and around the cut-out por tions 2 z of the projecting piecesA, upon each side of the dirt-box A, the two together forming aperfect circle or bearing for the said shaft, the shaft being secured thereon, consequently firmly holding the frame containing the sweeping devices to the box of the machine by a spring-catch, B at or near the drivers seat- 0.

To remove or detach the belt-frame from the body of the machine it is evident thatit is only necessary to unhook the handle and lift it sufficient to release the hooked shape arms W from the fixed piece A of the dirt-box, when the frame can be readily lifted therefrom, as is evident without further description. I

From the above it is apparent that, by at taching the frame containing the sweeping devices to the machine, so that it can be readily placed thereon or detached therefrom at pleasure, the dirt-receptacle of the machine can be drawn off by itself to the place or 10- cality where the dirt' is to be dumped--a very important and great advantage.

The lower end of the belt frame N terminatesin aseries of bentspringr-plates, D, which bear upon the ground as the machineis drawn forward by the horses or other power used,

and over which the brushes Q Q, ot'the brush- '1 shaft as they revolve through the devices connecting their shaft with the rear wheels of the machine pass, and sweep the dirt from the street up. to and upon the endless belt N, which a at the same time is traveling upward and toward the upper portion of the dirt-box, carrying the dirt thus deposited on it, and there held by its series of transverse parallelprojecting ridges, a or, attached to the same, which finally falls therefrom into the dirt-receptacle, as in ordinary street-sweeping machines employing an endless dirt-carrying belt. The dirt- .box having been sufliciently filled, or to its utmost'capacity, orthe sweeping of the street having been completed, the machine is then drawn to anysuitable place or locality for depositing the dirt, the frame containing the sweeping devices and dirt-carryin g belt being either detached from the machine or not, as

may-be desired, which 1 accomplish by hinging one sideo'f the bottom plates, b I), of each partof the dirtbox A to the machine in such .a manner that they can swing downward sufficiently to allow thedirt to fall through and out of the box, these plates b I being retained and' held in a closed position when desired by means of connecting-cords c c at tached to each of them, and passing upward through the interior of the box to and around the drum d in the upper portion of the machine, having a pinion -wheel, f engaging with a worm, g ,of' a shaft-rod, h turning in bearings at one end of a" standard, h, of the dirt-box, and at the'other of the angular arm I of a lever-handle, m, turning upon a fulcrum, 02 of the dirbbox, and held atits outer end in a fixed spring-catch, 0 thereof.

By'the above-described arrangement of devices also the bottom plates, 1) I), can be raised when desired by simply turning the crank-handle 10" of the worm-shaft h h in the proper direction therefor, the worm and pirrswing by the-downward, pressure or. weight of the dirt upon them. a

The endless belt or band for conveying the dirt to the -.dirt-recept'acle of the machine I make of india-rubber, gutta-perche, or other i suitable elastic materials, orof any of their re 7 spective elastic compounds, and in order to. prevent the dirt from working in and between its edges and the inner sides of the frame,'in

which it'moves, I form along and upon each edge of the belt, and for their entire length, a v

raised lip or flange, r which move hand through suitable-shaped grooves S S upon the inner surface of the side pieces, I, of the frame,

rollers the wheel turns, the object being to re duce the friction thereof and thereby decrease its wear as well as the amount of power necessary to be expended in the drawing of the machine over the surface of the ground; andin Fig.5 is shown an enlarged view of the bent spring by which the brush-frames are secured to their common center shaft, together with an arrangement of a rubber or other elastic cushion, dg'interposed between the spring and said shaft, through which passes a set-screw, f, the turning of which to the right or left causes the brush-frame either to be thrown in toward, or out from, the center shaft, thereby decreasing or increasing the circuit described by its revolutions at pleasure.

It may be here remarked that the gearwheels upon each end of the hind axle-tree I arrange in the same manner as that described for the pulleys and claimed by me in patent granted on the 18th day of Way, A. 1). 1858.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. So connecting the frame containing the sweeping devices and the endless dirt'carrying belt or band to the wagon or dirt box of a sweepingnachine that it can be readily detached therefrom or attached thereto at pleasurea, substantially asand for the purpose specifie' 2. The combination of the axle-ring G and ring H, attached together and to thefront wheels of the sweeping-machine, and operating substantially as and for the purposes specified.

- 3. The arrangement of the worm g pinion f and shaft (1 lever-handle m and liftingcords 0 operating substantially in the manner described, for the purpose of opening and closthe bottom plates of the dirt-box, as specified. 4. The combination of the hooked shaped lever-arms WV with the fixed projecting plates A, the arms being so connected to and with a suitable handle-lever, S, through rods 0) 10, that by raising or depressing the said handle the hooked ends of the arms to will be correspondingly moved, substantially as and for the purposes described. v

5. The employment, instrcet-sweeping machines, of an endless dirt-carrying beltorband made of india-rubber or any 0t its elastic compounds, and having suitable-shaped ridges,for the purpose described.

6. Forming upon and along each of the interior surfaces or faces of the sides of the frame M a guiding groove or channel, .9 in and' which the endless beltN moves, for the through purpose specified.

7. Inserting between the bent metallic springs by which the broom-frame is fastened to their center shaft and the said shaft an elasticcushiomdflin combination with a set-screw, f for the purpose and arranged as described.

Witnesses: A. J. ROBERTS.

ALBERT W. BROWN, 0. L. ToPLr F.

p In P 

